What Skinny People Eat: One Dancer’s Diet

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My fiance is the big cook in the house. I grumble and get into the shower while he fixes oatmeal with chopped apple and flax seeds in it. He’s super healthy, so he doesn’t use maple syrup, but I add a little! We like steel-cut oats better than rolled oats. Oh, and he also makes cappuccinos. It’s definitely an energizing breakfast that sticks with me.

In the summer, I’ll sometimes switch it up and have a smoothie with yogurt, banana, frozen fruit and a little protein powder (I sometimes add this to my oatmeal as well).

HS: Are you a snacker?

Bugge:

I’m not a big snacker. When we’re in rehearsal we don’t have a lot of time to eat during the day. Generally we don’t eat lunch until 3:30. I’ll usually just have a little bit of a Power Bar or a Fig Newton, if I need something. For lunch I’ll often have peanut butter and jelly. It’s easy and filling, but not so much that I won’t be hungry for dinner.

HS: So dinner must be your big meal…

Bugge:

Definitely. My fiance is a computer engineer and he approaches food like a scientist. That’s our hobby at night — to cook dinner and eat together. A few years ago we went to see [food writer] Mark Bittman speak and since then we’ve started — well, it’s not what he calls it — what we call “eat-less-meat-atarianism.” We love meat, but we eat it more sparingly. Instead of pork chops and a side, now meat is more like the garnish. Maybe a bit of sausage in a dish. We eat more beans and whole grains.

That’s really my only restriction and I’ve seen a big difference in my body since then. Vegetables let you eat more with fewer calories. If we are making a recipe that calls for meat, like a stew, we’ll use half the meat it calls for.

HS: What’s an indulgence you allow yourself, guiltlessly, after a tough workout?

Bugge:

Ice cream of course. To be honest, I think eating to reward yourself for a workout is tricky. It’s easy to erase an entire workout. So my feeling is that you should eat the things you like — just eat them in moderation.